The Glass Window, Goulding Cay and the Queen’s Baths

We motored north as winds were light stopping just south of the ‘Glass Window’ where Eleuthera’s northern half connects to the southern half via a bridge.  This bridge has been washed out by major storms as the Caribbean side of the Atlantic to the east nearly meets the shallow Atlantic bank on the west side of Eleuthera creating a "window". We had lunch and then took the dinghy to snorkel Goulding Cay and the Twin Sister Rocks. These were a change from our usual snorkels as they were in very shallow (3-4 feet)  of water and it was great to find ourselves surrounded by a nice sandy bottom.  We were not expecting much as the fish were quite small, but we saw bright yellow anemone and an interesting centipede like worm. The Liberty Clipper - a schooner from Boston familiar to Sarah from her walks around Boston Harbor, was the only other ship anchored nearby.

Lots of little fish at Goulding Cay

And a big one

Like a giant swimming pool

After snorkeling, we crossed the Queen’s Highway to the eastern shore of Eleuthera where the coast was rocky and waves were crashing - in search of the Queen’s Baths. With some difficulty, we finally managed to find our way down the rocks to the baths where pools of water had been trapped from high tide.  The pools became cooler and more turbulent with greater seawater exchange the closer the pool was to the ocean. The only other people present at the baths were Dan and Casey -the young couple who’d given us a lift to the Hatchett Bay cave just yesterday. We soaked in the baths moving from one to the next for 30 minutes or more, and were mesmerized by the crashing waves all around, amazed by their power even on a relatively calm day.

At the Queen's Baths

It's a small world island. Dan and Casey at the baths.